The Dutch Connection

by Patricia Anne (McGuinness) DuLong

At first glance, it might seem strange to discuss Dutch relatives on
an Irish family web site. However, many of the Dexter McGuinnesses who
descend from John Parnell McGuinness and Petronella "Nellie"
Bek also share the same Dutch ancestry.

John McGuinness and Nellie Bek were married 27 August 1912, Grand Rapids,
Kent County, Michigan.. The Bek family of Grand Rapids was very close
to the McGuinness family since that time. The couple was very family oriented
and visited often to meet their respective families in Detroit and Grand
Rapids. The Beks were always invited to the McGuinness Family reunions
in the mid-1900s. I was very lucky to know my Bek relatives as I was growing
up by meeting them at these picnics.

I would like to start my story with a little background and history of
the Netherlands, especially the Province of Zeeland, where the Bek family
originated. In the twelfth century, Zeeland was just a few small islands
in the North Sea. The Dutch utilized their knowledge of the sea and the
tides to figure out how to build dykes and use windmills to pump the water
out to enlarge their farm land, recovering it from the sea. This process
took about four hundred years to fully achieve what land is present today.
The Province of Zeeland is almost completely below sea level.

The Zeelanders loved their freedom so much that in 1575, when threatened
by Spanish take over, they flooded the province to defeat the Spanish.
Once the Dutch earned their freedom, the Zeelanders started to reclaim
the land from the sea again. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries,
the main occupation was fishing and exporting the catch to various ports
of Europe. They found the soil claimed from the sea so rich and fertile
that farming was the second major occupation. They grew grain for cereal
and "madder-wort", a plant that was used for its dye. They grew
a variety of vegetables as well, artichokes and asparagus mainly for export.
The Zeelanders of the past have been known to eat as many as four meals
a day with the main staples of fruits, vegetables, bread, cheese, milk,
and fish.

The men tended the farms but were also expected to help maintain the
dykes, which were constantly eroding from the powerful tides of the ocean.
The women were considered subservient to their husbands but masters of
running the home. They were known to keep spotless homes. You can imagine
them in their traditional costumes with starched white hats, bright colored
skirts with aprons, and ribbons. However, the dress most often seen was
that of the everyday worker. The women wore simply cloths while
working. The dresses and nickers would be patched until they could
be patched no more. The men would wear sailor type black caps or
knit long stocking caps and invariably be smoking a pipe. Of course
they would wear wooden shoes when working in the muddy fields.

The Dutch were considered friendly, peaceful people. They were one of
the most literate countries in Europe where nearly all men and women could
read and write. Yet, they carried some superstitions such as a woman fasting
the last six weeks of her pregnancy to insure a safe labor and delivery.
Around 1610, they would put their shoes upside down at the foot of their
bed to ward off witches.

While most of the provinces in the Netherlands would become Protestant
after the Reformation, many people in Zeeland remained Roman Catholic.
They suffered mild repression from the Dutch government, but in general
were tolerated as long as Mass was not held publicly. They would
rotate private homes for services. Most of our Zeeland ancestors remained
Catholic, even in the United States.

Most that we know about our Dutch ancestry comes from a book our cousin,
Debra Moore, wrote entitled Family Passages (1980). To
her material, I have added some items from my own research, the research
of J. Verdonk (a Dutch genealogist I had hired), and from family tradition.

I will start with our Dutch ancestors Jan Bek and Pieternella de Jong.
Jan Marinusse Bek was born on 13 February 1816, sHeer-Arendskerke,
island of Zuid Beveland, Zeeland Province, Netherlands. Among the Dutch,
the custom was for each child to carry the father's first name as a middle
name. For boys a final "se"or "z"denoting "son
of" was added to the middle name, while for girls a "dr"
was added to the middle name to denote "daughter of." Jan was
the first child of Marinus Bek and Johanna de Winter.

The Dutch share with the Irish the custom of naming the first son after
the father's father and the second son after the mother's father.
Likewise, the first daughter was supposed to be named after the father's
mother and the second daughter was to be named after the mother's mother.
Although this custom was not strictly followed in every family, Jan was
named after his paternal grandfather, Jan Bek, Jan Marinusse Bek, the
husband of Adriana Huige.

Jan had ten brothers and sisters (three brothers named Laurus, four sisters
named Adrianna, and three brothers named Jacob, it was not uncustomary
to give children the same names in the face of high infant mortality).

The ancestry of Jan Bek and Pieternella de Jonge extends back to the
mid-eighteenth century. Verdonk (1985), a professional genealogist,
did most of the research on their ancestry for us using the parish registers
back in the Netherlands. I verified and supplemented his work with
my own at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. As
time permits, I will add their ancestry to this web page.

Jan was a farm hand at the time he married Pieternella de Jonge and she
was a farmers maid. They were married 29 July 1840 in Heinkenszand,
which is also on the island of Zuid Beveland.

Pieternella Adriaansdr de Jonge was born on the 21 March 1819 in Heinkenszand.
Her parents were Adrian Janse de Jonge and Catharina Pieterse Priem. Her
mother was 33 when Pieternella was born, but her father was 63, this being
his second marriage. Pieternella had three sisters: Maria, born 1807,
Jobina, born 1809, and Johanna, born 1822. On her fathers death
certificate it mentions that he had left three children from his first
marriage and four children from his second marriage. Pieternella was only
five when her father died on 27 July 1824. She was raised by her stepfather,
Cornelius Rentmeester whom Catherina had married on 19 May 1826. From
this marriage Pieternella had one stepsister, Maatje, born 1828.

For Jan to court Pieternella he would have had to travel between sHeer-Arendskerke
and Heinkenzand. This would have been a walk of about nine kilometers.
He most likely would have used a tree-lined route called "Clarenspad,"
or Claras Path.

So far only three children have been identified as being born to Jan
Bek and Pieternella de Jonge. They are Laurus, born 15 January 1845;
Marinus born in 1850, and Hubertus born 23 April 1859. Hubertus's birth
must have been bitter sweet for Pieternella because her mother had just
died on 3 April 1859.

At this time, overpopulation was making life quite difficult for the
farmers in the Netherlands. America seemed the best place to go for many
because of the reasonable cost of farmland there and the need for workers
in industry. All three sons of Jan Bek and Pieternella emigrated to the
United States in the 1880s. They settled in the Grand Rapids area.
Laurus married Cornelia de Willigen and had nine children, Marinus never
married, and Hubertus married Jacquamina Oostdyke and had five children.
Jan and Pieternella were never to see any of their fourteen grandchildren.

There is an interesting family story about Hubertus (Americanized to
Herbert) that I have not yet been able to verify. According to this story,
when he was a young lad he was adventurous and joined the naval service.
When he had served his term the boat was pulling into port and he saw
a steamship getting ready to leave for America. He never went to the governing
board to file his discharge because he immediately boarded the steamship
and left for America, around 1881. Thus, he was considered absent
without leave, Another version that Ive heard says that he
deserted the Dutch army in Indonesia and fled to the United States.

Herbert Bek
and Minnie Oostdyke, about 1930

Herbert worked his way to Grand Rapids where there was a large Dutch
immigrant community. He found a room with the Cornelius Oostdyke family
around 1881. According to the 1880 census, the Oostdyke [sic] family
was living at 615 Turner WS, Grand Rapids.

Not too long after, on the 27 March 1882, Cornelius Oostdyke suddenly
lost his wife, Cornelia Pieters, to a ruptured appendix. He was
left a widower with three children. Herbert took a liking to his eldest
daughter, Jacquamina "Minnie" who was only 16 years old. Her
father gave his blessing for the two to get married so there would be
a second income to help with the other two children. Herbert Bek married
Jacquamina "Minnie" Oostdyke on the 2 May 1882 in Grand Rapids.

Oostdyke in Dutch is spelled Oöstdijk meaning East Dyke. This is also
the name of the town in Zeeland where the family originated. Jacquaminas
father, Cornelius, was born 3 January 1833, Heinkenszand. He married 26
Apr 1865 Cornelia Pieters or Pieters, Americanized to Peters. She was
born 20 March 1837, Hoedekenskerke, Zeeland. They had four children: Jacquamina
born 11 March 1866, Jenny born 28 August 1867, Johannes Adriannus born
28 September 1869, and Jacobus born 6 December 1879. They decided
to leave for America around May 1871. There was an outbreak of diphtheria
on the boat over and Johannes and Jacobus both died before reaching America.
They had three more children in Grand Rapids: John born 24 June 1872,
Martin Raymond "Rennie" born 29 October 1874, and Josephine
Mary "Josie" born 1878. The family was hit with diphtheria again
in August 1880 when they lost Jenny on the 21st and John on
the 26th.

Herbert was a finisher and stainer at the Widdicomb Furniture Co. for
many years. He then tried running his own business as a saloon keeper
about 1915. However, Minnie was not too pleased with that occupation.
Consequently, he abandoned the bar and started working for the Grand Rapids
School district as a custodian. He also was custodian for apartments.
He was a member of the Holy Name Society and St. Anthonys Aid Society.

Herbert died on 23 October 1934, Grand Rapids. He was buried in
the Woodlawn Cemetery, Grand Rapids. Minnie died on 30 October 1952, Grand
Rapids. She is well remembered as a kind, gentle, loving person.
John McGuinness remembers her baking delicious hot cinnamon rolls.

Herbert and Minnie had six children, all born in Grand Rapids:

Katherine "Kate" Mary, born 2 May 1883, died 24 February
1966, married 7 June 1906, Grand Rapids, to James Kemp Blandford, born
16 March 1882, died 7 September 1967. They lived in Grand Rapids
all their life. He was a sticker for a lumber company and then foreman
at the Clipper Belt and Lacer Co. They had four children:

Roger James, born 24 October1908, died in Sun City, Arizona, married,
1 July 1944, to Margaret Lois Edwards, born 13 September 1909, Saginaw,
Michigan, died in Sun City, Arizona. He was a commissioned naval officer
in World War II. They had three children.

Helen Katherine, born 15 April 1910, died 1 January 1997, married,
11 May 1935, to Elmer Charles Kampfschulte, born 5 August 1908, died
8 November 1991. He was a salesman in Grand Rapids. They had
six children.

Lily Mae, born 15 March 1917, married in 1935 at Michigan City,
Indiana, to Robert Jerome Maynard. She divorced in 1952 and
remarried 13 June 1953 to John Robert Schmidt, who died 29 April 1986.
She died 29 November 1995 in Los Angeles, California. She had two
children from her first marriage and one from her second marriage.

James "Bud" Marvin Jr., born 27 December 1922, died 19
February 1987 in Big Rapids, Michigan. He fought in the army during
the Battle of the Bulge in World War II. He married 19 October 1946
to Margaret Darrah Freeland and adopted one child.

Petronella "Nellie" Mary, born 17 May 1886, died 11 May
1964 in Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan. She was a school teacher and
graduated from Kalamazoo Normal College about 1908. She continued teaching
until she married 27 August 1912 to John Parnell McGuinness, born 19
February 1887 and died 8 October 1964. He too was a teacher, graduating
with his teaching certificate about 1907 from Kalamazoo Normal College
and received his Bachelors from University of Michigan about 1914 and
Masters of History about 1935. He was a math teacher, boys counselor
and Assistant Principle of Cleveland Junior High in Detroit, when he
retired. The McGuinness family was recognized as the "teachingest
family" in Michigan at the 1955 State Fair. They had seven children
in which five are still living.

Laura Cornelia, born 14 February 1888 and died 24 September 1974 in
Grand Rapids. On the 1910 Census she was recorded as being an out of
work bookbinder in a book store. She married in Grand Rapids 28 June
1910 to Richard Thomas Armock, born 7 November 1885 in Grand Rapids
and died 18 December 1972 there. She played the organ in church, enjoyed
flower gardening and he was an assembler for the furniture company in
Grand Rapids. They had three children:

Alice Wilhemina, born 15 April 1911 and died 11 October 1994 in
Grand Rapids. She married in Grand Rapids 16 Feb 1929 to Edward
Charles Klinkner, born 29 October 1909 in Grand Rapids and died
April 1995 there. He was a furniture builder at a company and then
he opened their own upholstery shop in their home. They had six
children together in Grand Rapids and five are still living.

James "Jim" Richard, born 1 December1913 and died 30
September 1997 in Grand Rapids. He married 11 May 1946 to Christine
"Chrissy" Magdalene Hindinach, born 17 February 1915.
He was in the air force in the Mediterranean Theatre during World
War II. He owned an Automotive Warehouse in Grand Rapids. They had
four children all living.

Gerald "Jerry" Francis, born 26 August 1915 and died
1 December 1995 in Grand Rapids. He married in Grand Rapids 16 Aug
1941 Sylvia Christina Frank, born 27 February 1921 in Conklin, Michigan.
He served in the army during World War II stationed in Cheyenne,
Wyoming. He ran his own general store at Chippewa Lake, Michigan
from 1945 to1959 and then worked in maintenance for Ferris State
University until he retired in 1979. They had four children still
living.

Cornelius "Neil" James, born 5 April 1890 in Grand Rapids,
and died 19 November 1974 in Los Angeles, California. Neil was an adventurous
man like his father. He was a skilled machinist during World War I for
General Motors. Then decided to go to California with his younger brother
John after the war, about 1920. He met a woman named Pearl and married
her. Not much is known between them. He married again on 7 February
1928 in San Francisco, California, to Gladys Elsie Allen, born 9 April
1904 in Buffalo Center, Iowa, and died 18 August 1990. He left for Montana
and was a shoe salesman, then a car salesman, then off to North Dakota
to become owner of the Castleloma hotel/night club. Guy Lombardo
and Lawrence Welk played with their bands at his establishment. He worked
at the University of North Dakota teaching a machinist class for a while.Then,
in 1943, he left for Seattle, Washington, to work as a journeyman machinist.
After his divorce in 1947 he moved back to Michigan to take a machinist
job at Reynolds Aluminum in Grand Rapids until he retired in 1958 and
moved back to California to be near his daughter and only child. He
was married about five times.

Jennie born 12 June 1891 according to the index in the vital records
of Kent County, Michigan. I never heard anyone mention her so I believe
she died young.

John Martin, born 15 June 1893, Grand Rapids. He was baptized at St.
Joseph Catholic Church in Conklin, Michigan (a suburb of Grand Rapids),
died 6 June 1977 in Ventura Co., California. He married first a Frieda
Loretta Dornberger. She was born 4 August 1900, Manhattan, New York.
They married around 1924 and had two daughters before she died in 1953.
He married secondly, 7 May 1955 in Los Angeles, to Amelia Sylvia Place.
John was remembered as being very athletic and received a scholarship
to Colgate University. He received a commission in the navy for World
War I. He attended the Colorado School of Mines. After the war, he worked
for an oil company digging wells. Then, around 1920, he went to California
with his brother Neil and was a salesman for a furniture store. He later
was working at a Dutch carpet wholesale store as one of their best salesmen.
He was about 5' 8" with light brown hair according to his daughter.
His brother Neil was about the same height and they both had similar
voices.

Mr. Verdonk is perhaps the best professional genealogist I have ever
had an opportunity to work with in my research. He did a thorough
job and prepared a well laid out and documented report on our Dutch
ancestors.